BIOGRAPHY
Schuyler Tsuda graduated from Gonzaga University in 2002 majoring in composition, guitar performance and music education, earning him two Bachelor of Arts degrees in music. In 2006, he received his Master’s of Music degree in composition from the University of Hawai’i. He has recently completed his Ph.D. degree in 2010 at the University of Minnesota. Schuyler Tsuda has studied composition with James Dillon, Doug Geers, Takeo Kudo and Kevin Waters and has studied electronic music under the instruction of James Hearon and Nathan Wolek. He has studied privately with Iancu Dumitrescu, Ana-Maria Avram and Kaija Saariaho.
Schuyler Tsuda is a McKnight Fellow, a Hella Mears Fellow and a recipient of the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Minnesota. Schuyler Tsuda’s music has been performed by Irvine Arditti and Romanian cellist Andrei Kivu, and he has had performances at the Spectrum XXI Festival, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the Spark Festival, SEAMUS National Conference, NYCEMF and Electronic Music Midwest.
Schuyler Tsuda has been a champion of new music, promoting the works of new composers as founder and organizer of composer/artist groups including his Benders and Hackers Group—a group of experimental performing artists from various branches of music, art and science who build and modify electronic instruments. He has been vice president of the multi-disciplinary arts organization, Arts Quarter Collective, at the University of Minnesota. He founded and organized the Room Zero concert series to showcase innovative, experimental bands and artists in the Twin Cities.
In addition to his work in the world of contemporary art music, Schuyler Tsuda has scored numerous films and is a filmmaker in his own right. As a film composer, he has had screenings at the Hawai’i International Film Festival in 2005 and won a Bronze Remi award with his production team at the Houston International Film Festival in the same year. As a filmmaker, he won a Gold Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2007 and had screenings at the Bearded Child Film Festival in 2007 and 2008.
Schuyler Tsuda is also a sound sculptor and audio hacker who performs in the noise duo Shield Your Eyes. He has had solo performances in Berlin and at the Sonic Arts Research Center (SARC) in Belfast. He has recorded with the Vultures Quartet and has had tracks released on compilation albums by Culture Asylum Magazine, Zos Kia Sound Recordings and Classwar Karaoke.
Schuyler is currently a freelance composer and does audio and video production work through his own company, The Sonic Alchemists, LLC.